Regrets are For Later
by imadoodlenoodle
Summary: The night of the final battle. Ginny goes off to try and be alone and ends up being followed, and sharing the night with, the last person she'd expect. DG


**Regrets Are For Later**

The final battle was over and Voldemort was dead. As was Fred. Bunched together in one corner was the entire Weasley family, with Molly and Arthur both sitting on the Hufflepuff bench. Molly was hugging her children one by one.

When Harry Potter entered the room, everyone just stared at first and then slowly but surely, someone started clapping. Then someone else joined in. Then a group of people joined in. Soon the entire hall was clapping for their Saviour. Harry blushed and looked uncomfortable but lifted a hand and awkwardly waved with a sheepish smile adorning his face.

After a minute of the clapping, it stopped and there was silence while everyone stared at Harry, waiting for him to say something. Harry was unsure of what he was supposed to say to these people, these people that had fought, won, and lost. Fighting enemies, winning a war, and losing friends, family and people they had only just met that day.

"Voldemort didn't have anything to lose when he started this war; he had everything to gain." Harry chewed on his lip trying to think of the words that would express what he was trying to say. His hands were fidgeting, clutching at his blood stained shirt and then hanging at his sides before moving again.

"We, we had everything to lose: our lives, families, world, freedom, peace, and so much more. We've won the war and we've managed to hold onto our peace. We need to rebuild our world; we need to bring it back together. This we can fix, we can sort it out. But...but the dead stay dead." Harry swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"We lost good people today, people that shouldn't have had to die. The war may be over and the mourning may have just started, but rebuilding the Wizarding world and making sure there's peace is a task that is never going to end. We are going to have to work at it for all our lives. Today we can grieve in peace, but tomorrow, next week, next month we have to put the war behind us and move on." Harry had been looking straight ahead the entire time but now looked out across those gathered in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

"We've all done something in the war, done our parts. We're all on the same side. We're friends. We've dealt with the war and now we need to deal with the consequences. Together." Harry closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. He took one last look at the people in front of him before heading towards his family in the corner.

Molly gathered him in a hug as soon as he was in reach.

"Oh, Harry dear." The rest of her speech was muffled by Harry's shoulder as Harry for one of the first times ever also grabbed Mrs Weasley and hugged her for all he was worth.

* * *

While the rest of her family were busy talking to Harry and questioning him on the final showdown between him and Voldemort, Ginny Weasley, the youngest and the only female Weasley snuck out of the Great Hall and disappeared, looking for a room where she could be alone.

The first three floors were full of people so Ginny carried on walking up the castle. The number of people diminished as she went up until she reached the sixth floor where she couldn't hear nor see anyone. Instead of secreting herself in one of the unused classrooms, however, she elected to go up to the seventh floor, deciding that the Room of Requirement was just the type of place she needed. Due to its talent at creating whatever—well, within reason—the user wanted, Ginny could spend however long she wanted in there without having to leave for a bed or bathroom.

Ginny saw no one on the seventh floor on her way to the room. _T__hat makes sense, everyone's probably down in the Great Hall with their families._ She was soon pacing outside of the Room of Requirement.

_I need a place where I can stay in peace and quiet. I need a place where I can stay in peace and quiet. I need a place where I can stay in peace and quiet._ After the third time past the naked wall a door appeared, and Ginny rushed forward, eagerly throwing the door open. She froze at first, just standing in the doorway looking at the room the, well, _room_ had provided.

It wasn't an overly large room; it was about double the size of her dorm room. In the corner, a large bed was barely visible, surrounded by heavy dark drapes that gave it privacy. In the opposite corner, there was a small kitchenette and table, and another corner held a miniature living room with some couches and a number of bookshelves and a coffee table. Another room occupied the last corner.

Opening the door to it, Ginny found that a simple bathroom had been provided. Whereas the majority of the room had been decked out in Gryffindor colours, the bathroom was a mix of emerald green and snowy white.

As she re-entered the main part of the room, Ginny noticed the open door. Not wanting anyone else to stumble upon her retreat, Ginny ran forward and slammed the door shut, only to collapse on the floor with exhaustion. That little burst had used up the last of the adrenaline that had been pumping around her body since the start of the battle.

Resting on the floor for a moment with her head against the ground, Ginny closed her eyes. Immediately her mind was flooded with images of the battle, of seeing people around her fall to the floor, some still, some moaning—all covered in blood. Ginny shuddered.

"It's all over, all over. No more fighting, no more d-d-dea..." Ginny stumbled on the last word, thinking of her brother, gathering her courage she forced herself to finish her sentence, "no more deaths."

"There are still some Death Eaters out there. There'll most likely be a few more," a quiet voice pierced the silence that had filled the room. Ginny's eyes snapped open. Spinning around she stood up, too fast and ended up having to steady herself against the door.

"What are you doing in here?" she snarled, face distorted with anger.

"I came here to get away from everyone—people I actually like—and I definitely don't want to be in a room with you. Get out." Ginny left the comfort of the door and stalked over to the blond who was sat on the edge of one of the couches, sipping at a cup of coffee. Another cup was on the table.

"Do you think I want to be down there surrounded by your lot? I came up here to get away from _them_." Draco Malfoy put his cup down with more force than was necessary. They stared at each other; not releasing eye contact, Ginny sat down opposite him and looked at him properly.

She was shocked at first before realising Malfoy had been fighting as well. Instead of the normal smooth and sculpted appearance Malfoy usually held, he was dishevelled, tired and, well, scruffy. His hair was all over the place, he had dark circles under his eyes and a large bruise was forming on his chin. Apart from that and the cuts on his lip and above his eyebrow, he had made it through unscathed.

"Where are your parents?" Ginny whispered. It seemed right to in this quiet place.

"Gone back to the Manor. Told them I'd meet them later." A dark expression flashed for a moment before it was gone, replaced by nothing.

"How did you get in and make these drinks? I didn't notice or hear you." _How did you invade my place?_ was not said, but the question hung between them.

"I followed you up. You seemed so determined and full of purpose. I wanted to see what you had. When you ran into the bathroom, you left the door open and I entered. I disillusioned myself as you came back out. As for the drinks, well, I asked and they appeared." Ginny frowned at the last bit.

"The Room couldn't have created the drinks, the fifth law of--" Draco waved aside her argument impatiently.

"Don't turn Granger-like on me," Draco snorted. Ginny supposed it was at the idea.

"No, house elves. Bloody things. After fifth year with Potter and _'__Dumbledore's Army,'_" she sneered both of the names, "and because of the whole sixth year thing, I wanted to find out more about this place. The Room..._feels_, for lack of a better word, the request for food or drink and somehow conveys this to the kitchen elves. They send the food."

"Oh." Draco picked up his drink and took a swig of it before cradling it in his hands, looking back up at her.

"Drink your drink," he ordered.

"I don't drink coffee. The taste, it's...I don't like it." Draco raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"You had a bad childhood experience with coffee?" he mocked.

"Stop being an ass," Ginny bit the words out, energised by the sudden anger. Draco jerked back, startled. They had been speaking quietly until then when Ginny spoke at normal volume with an edge to her words. Draco turned his head to the side and appraised her.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" The edge had gone and Ginny was back to whispering, tired physically and emotionally. Draco smirked, mocking her this time with his mouth not words.

"It's Draco, Weaselette, remember? Your boyfriend Saint Potter's speech made it clear: 'We're all on the same side; we're all friends.'" Draco imitated Harry poorly, not even bothering to try to hide the distaste he felt.

"Harry's not my boyfriend, _Draco_. And don't call me Weaselette, it's Ginny. _Remember__?_" Ginny mocked back. Ginny was leaning forward with her arms in her lap, but Draco's sudden dark laugh made her twitch and she shuffled back into the couch. Draco stopped laughing suddenly, as if he never had.

"I must be tired to leave you such an opening." Draco sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"I suppose if you don't want to go home tonight I could request another bed for you?" Ginny asked tentatively. She wasn't sure about Malfoy, he was different than what she was used to.

"Or we could waste away the night and drink 'til the day and let my good friend alcohol whisk our troubles away!" Draco feigned enthusiasm and said lightly in a rhyme. To Ginny, it didn't sound like the first time he had said it.

"'We?' 'Good friend?' The war's over. There's no more trouble to be had."

"Silly little Weasl--_Ginny_. Silly little Ginny. The trouble's just beginning! Except this time, you don't know the face of who you're fighting." A bottle of single malt whiskey appeared on the table along with two glasses.

"What do you mean Draco? What trouble? Do you mean th--" Draco briefly moved his hand to her mouth to stem the flow of questions.

"You're turning into Granger again. Too many questions." Draco unscrewed the bottle and poured the whiskey into the two glasses with Ginny watching him. After he finished pouring and had stoppered the bottle, she leaned forward again.

"Answers, Malfoy. Who is the trouble?" Draco shook his head.

"Drink." He shoved a glass at her. Ginny pushed it away.

"No thanks. Answers."

"Drink." Draco pushed the glass towards her once more.

"No thank _you_." Ginny pushed the glass away again.

"Drink." Once more, the glass was placed in front of her.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Ginny picked up the glass and downed it. Draco cracked a grin.

"Just like a Hufflepuff." Ginny looked confused at him.

"Excuse me?" Ginny was taken aback; she had never heard this insult before.

"You have parties in Gryffindor don't you?"

"Well yeah, of course we do."

"You invite anyone from the other houses?"

"A couple of Ravenclaws come sometimes." Draco looked surprised.

"You mean the house of light and good doesn't open its doors to everyone?"

"We let Ravenclaws in!" Ginny defended indignantly.

"Merlin. Hufflepuffs, well...it's always the quiet ones." Draco shook his head and downed his shot before opening the bottle and pouring two more. He left the bottle open.

"You're telling me the Hufflepuffs are the party animals?" Disbelief lined Ginny's question.

"They are," Draco agreed and downed another shot.

"Drink," he ordered and poured himself another before waiting for Ginny. Ginny downed her shot absentmindedly and watched as he refilled her glass.

"'You trying to get me drunk, Draco Malfoy?" Ginny pretended to smile coquettishly at Draco. Who in turn smiled, drank and refilled.

"Nope. Trying to get me drunk. You're just coming for the ride." Another two bottles appeared.

"We haven't even finished the first! Not even half way!"

"We will." Ginny was worried at first at Draco's cool assurance but quickly decided that drinking the night away was better than thinking about, well, thinking about everything else.

* * *

"Soooo, Ginny Ginny Gin Gin. Why you want to be aaaallll alone?" Draco was drunk and his words were slurring.

"My brother. He's dead. Dead, dead, dead. Like Bumblebore. 'cept no tower falling off-y for him."

"I nearly died." Draco's eyes cleared for a moment as if he was thinking back to earlier.

"I know. Silly Goyle set this room on fire." Draco violently shook his head.

"No, no, no. Not Goyle."

"Not Goyle?"

"Not Goyle. Crabbe. Crabbe's dead."

"You were friends?" Ginny tried to sound sympathetic, and Draco looked at the ceiling, pausing for a moment before answering.

"No. Not friends." He took a swig from one of the depleting bottles.

"Oh," was all Ginny could say and she too took a swig.

* * *

"This room should have been destroyed. I wonder why it isn't." Ginny stood suddenly and looked around her at the room before the motion caught up with her and she stumbled and fell. Conveniently falling over the table and landing in Draco's lap.

"You're in my lap," Draco said matter-of-factly, looking down at the girl who was, indeed, sitting on his lap.

"I fell," Ginny mumbled and a blush grew slowly on her cheeks.

"I saw." There was no noise as the two just stared at each other. Draco blinked. Ginny blinked. Draco opened his mouth slightly and Ginny tilted her head up towards him.

"Magic," Draco uttered before falling silent again.

"Wha?" Ginny's forehead burrowed and a look of bewilderment crossed her face.

"The room wasn't completely destroyed because of magic," Draco explained.

"That makes sense," Ginny acquiesced.

"Yeah."

They fell into silence.

* * *

"I can't feel my feet." Ginny and Draco had sat in the quiet for an hour, not moving nor speaking; just sitting there.

"That's because you aren't touching them," Ginny replied matter of factly. The alcohol was starting to wear off because of their tiredness and both of them had fast metabolisms, a trait of being pureblood.

"Huh. I'm tired." Draco closed his eyes and rested his head on Ginny's shoulder.

"So am I. Wanna go to bed?" Ginny lifted her head and looked at the boy who was holding her. Draco's head had jumped back up and he was looking at her with incredulity, but then it faded and comprehension dawned.

"I'll regret it in the morning. I think." Draco wasn't talking to Ginny now, but himself.

"Come then, Miss Gin. To bed with us." Draco stood up, teetering for a moment to compensate his blood-alcohol level and Ginny's weight. Carrying her bridal-style, Draco slowly made his way across the room and towards the bed, only bumping into a couch once.

When they reached the bed, Draco opened his arms wide suddenly and Ginny, who had not been holding on, fell onto the bed with a bounce. She immediately rolled over onto her side before pulling her legs up and, after some twisting and manoeuvring, managed to push them under the covers. She lifted her arms up, pulled off her jumper, and kicked off her shoes before relaxing fully into the plump pillow.

Draco had also kicked off his shoes and pulled his jumper and shirt off, revealing a vest top underneath. The alcohol, having made him more comfortable and complacent, also made him uncaring about proper decorum. Instead of walking around the bed to the other side, Draco just climbed over Ginny, resting on top of her while he wrestled the covers back so he could slide in.

"Ow! Bloody hell, Draco, you're squishing me!" Ginny muttered angrily, sounding tired at the same time.

"Oh, shut up, I'll be off you in a moment." As Draco spoke, he rolled off Ginny, pulling the covers over himself lying inwards on his side facing her.

"We're sharing a bed," he said frankly. Ginny stared back.

"I'm sharing a bed with a girl." Draco didn't say this with any wonder, but rather he said it in contemplation. Ginny was about to speak but Draco managed to cut her off before she could.

"And there's no sex involved. Strange." Draco shrugged, unaffected, and closed his eyes. He did not see Ginny's mouth drop open imperceptibly. Giving her head a quick shake, she also closed her eyes and fell asleep not long after.

* * *

Draco opened his eyes abruptly and quickly squeezed them shut. He had a pounding headache and his tongue--Draco felt his tongue in confirmation—yeah, his tongue felt like sandpaper and carpet. Draco laid his head back down on the pillow. He had never known that his head was so heavy to hold up.

_Maybe I'll just lie here for a while. At least until the goblins stop mining for gold in my head._ Draco frowned. He was not alone. Looking down at himself, he noticed one head of bright red hair and two pale arms curled around him. He also noticed his arms curled around _her_.

_Huh. I can please women even when completely drunk._ Moving the hair aside to see who he had conquered, Draco was surprised to see Ginny Weasley's face. _Weasley? _

It was then when he noticed that she was fully clothed and he still had his trousers on that he realised maybe he hadn't yet conquered the girl. Draco tried to think back to the night before, and slowly he was able to defog the past. _Dead Voldemort, alcohol, Weasley._ The mining got harder and Draco groaned. His groaning woke up his bed-sharer.

"Malfoy?" Ginny peered up at him, looking as bad as he felt.

"You look like shit," was all she said and after the insult passed through his defences Draco was quick to snap back a biting comment.

"So do you." Ginny snorted.

"I did spend the night with you getting drunk." Draco smiled wanly.

"Want to ask for some potions? Oh, and it's Draco, remember?" Ginny grunted.

"Shut up. I'm not awake enough to deal with you." She buried her head in his chest and relaxed, starting to fall asleep again. Wanting an answer to his question, Draco rocked his body back and forth to stop her.

"You ass, stop it," Ginny mumbled into his chest and when he didn't stop she lightly bit him.

"Merlin! You've drawn blood!" Draco pulled back away from the girl, but could only go so far with their arms wrapped around each other.

"Oh calm down. That was only light. Potions later; sleep now." Ginny pulled Draco back to her and rested herself against him. Feeling too tired to stop her or untangle himself, Draco went along with her. Deciding they would talk about this all later when they were less _tired,_ Draco soon relaxed into the embrace. Feeling Ginny's light breath on his shoulder Draco dozed off into a morning slumber, deciding that regret could wait for later.

* * *

**Well, I called it romance but it is more of a comfort fic. This may eventually become chapter-ed but not until everything else I want to finish, is finished. **

**This was beta'd for my by Cadaverous Apples. She is an amazing DG writer and a fantastic beta- her notes were nearly as long as this story,- so please check her out. Actually, she did quite a bit so if you do kindly review, please say thanks to her for all the correct grammar etc... **

**I've just realised, this means you can blame her for the bad grammar etc...as well. No, don't do that. She'll lynch me. **

**Reviews are appreciated, I thank you for reading. **

**Sarah, (the non-romance writer).**


End file.
